CHAPTER 2: fixation and keeps the options open for
self-improvement.
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE: THE SELF AS A
PRODUCT OF SOCIETY
“Understanding of the self only arises in
relationship, in watching yourself in
relationship to people, ideas and things; to
trees, the earth, and the world around you
and within you. Relationship is the mirror
in which the self is revealed. Without self-
knowledge, there is no basis for right
thought and action.”
-Jiddu Krishnamurti
- Sociological perspective of the self is
based on the assumption that human
behavior is influenced by group life.
- A particular view on oneself is formed
through interactions with other people,
group, or social institutions.
- For sociologists, like Mead and Cooley,
“the self does not depend of biological
predispositions; rather, it is a product of
social interaction”
- The sense of self emerges as the
individual partakes in the society.
- While the individual seeks for solid and
stable self-identity in modern society, the
postmodern individual tries to avoid
the social environment that includes
family, school, peer groups and mass
Jean Baudrillard
- French sociologist that posits that
in the postmodern society, the self
is found in the prestige symbols of
goods consumed by people.
- The postmodern person has
become an insatiable consumer
- Therefore, if people desire to be
satisfied with things in life, they
should be persuaded by the
postmodern culture of
advertisement and mass media
which suggest false needs.
- Sociology as a scientific study of
social groups and human
relationships generates new
insights int the interconnectedness
between the self and other people.
- Hence, sociologists offer theories
to explain how to self emerges as a
product of social experiences.
*the looking-glass self by Charles Horton
Cooley and the theory of the social self by
George Herbert Mead are helpful in
understanding how a person views
himself/herself as he/she interacts with
media*
Looking-Glass Self
- Introduced by sociologist Charles
Horton Cooley in 1902
- Highlights that people whom a
person interacts with become a
mirror in which he or she views
himself/herself.
- Self-identity or self-image is
achieved through a three-fold
event which begins by conceiving
an idea of how a person presents
himself/herself to others, how
he/she analyzes how others
perceive him/her and how he/she
creates an image of
himself/herself.
- These perceptions are subjective,
so a person may have wrong
interpretations of how other
people evaluate him or her.
- It would be critical if he or she
thinks that others judge him or her
unfavorably because he could
develop a negative self-image.
Theory of the Social Self
- Introduced by George Herbert
Mead
- He supports the view that a person
develops a sense of self through
 social interaction and not the
biological preconditions of that
interactions.
- Mead’s theory explain that the self
has two divisions:
o “I”- subjective element and
the active side of the self
- the active side of the
self; represents the
spontaneous and unique
traits of the individual
o “Me”- the objective element
of the self
- represents the
internalized attitudes and
demands of other people
and the individual’s
awareness of those
demands.
- The full development of the self is
attained when the “I” and “me” are
united.
- According to Mead, “the self is not
present at birth”. It develops with
social experience in which
language, gestures, and objects are
used to communicate
meaningfully.
- Since there is meaning in human
actions, a person infers people’s
intention or direction of action,
which may lead him or her to
understand the world from others’
point of view—a process that
Mead labels as role-taking
- Then he/she creates his/her own
role and anticipates how others
will respond.
- When he/she performs his/her
own role, he/she becomes self-
aware
- The self continues to change along
with his/her social experience. In
other words, no matter how much
the world shapes a person, he or
she will always remain a creative
being, and be able to react to the
world around him/her
- Mead details the development of
the self in a three-stage process:
1. Preparatory Stage (0-3 yrs
old)- children imitate people
around them, especially family
members with whom they have
daily interaction.
- they copy behaviors
without understanding
underlying intentions, and so at
this stage, they have no sense
of self
- children are just
preparing for role-taking
2. Play Stage (3-5 years old)
- children start to view themselves
in relationship with others as they learn
to communicate through language and
other symbols.
- at this stage, role-taking is
exhibited; however, children do not
perceive role-taking as something
expected of them.
- the self emerges as children
pretend to take the roles of specific
people or significant others; those
individuals are important agents of
socialization.
- at this stage, the self is
developing
3. Game Stage (begins in the early
school years; about 8-9 years old)
- children understand not only their
own social position but also those
of others around thm.
- At this stage, children become
concerned about and take into
account in their behavior the
generalized others which refer to
the attitudes, viewpoints, demands
and expectations of the society
which include cultural norms and
values that serve as references in
evaluating oneself.
- This time, they can have a more
sophisticated look of people and an
ability to respond to numerous
 members of the social
environment.
- During this stage, the self is now
present.
The Self as a Product of Modern and
Postmodern Societies
For French sociologist Jean
- In Gerry Lanuza’s article, The
Baudrillard…
Constitution of the Self, discusses
the relatiobship between the
society and the individual.
- According to him, in modern
societies the attainment and
stability of the self-identity are
freely chosen. It is no longer
restricted by customs and
traditions.
- While this newfound freedom
offers infinite possibilities for self-
cultivation, problems such as
alienation and dehumanization of
the self appear which hinder the
full development of human
potentials.
- Hence, there is a need to discover
the “authentic core” of the self for
the individual to freely work
towards self-realization.
- The dissolution of traditional
values and communities in modern
society has led the individual to
construct a solid and stable self-
identity, the postmodern - Therefore, the self may be in a
individual welcomes all never-ending search for prestige in
possibilities for self-improvement. the postmodern society
- In postmodern societies, self-
identity continuously changes due
to the demands of multitude of
social contexts, new information
technologies and globalization.
- He exposes the negative
consequences of postmodernity to
individuals in the society.
- For him, consumption structures
the postmodern society. The
postmodern individuals achieve
self-identity through prestige
symbols that they consume.
- Individuals seek for a position in
society through the quality of
prestige symbols that they can
afford to consume
- The cultural practices of
advertising and mass media
greatly influence individuals to
consume goods not for their
primary value and utility but for
the feeling of goodness and power
when compared with others.
- Hence, the postmodern person has
become an insatiable consumer
and may never be satisfied in
his/her life